


The Box

by darlingswanscharmedbygold



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Age Play Little Emma Swan, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cursed Storybrooke, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 13:19:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16765936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingswanscharmedbygold/pseuds/darlingswanscharmedbygold
Summary: Mary Margaret needs someone to take care of. Emma needs to be taken care of. Fate's a funny thing.





	The Box

**Author's Note:**

> For my girlfriend, who is my little and my rock. I love you, baby.
> 
> (Will add to this at some point. May I add David to the mix as well, post-curse. We'll see.)

It all started with a box.

Emma didn’t have many things, but she was pretty open about what she did. Her baby blanket, some clothes, a few books and some art supplies. In addition to that, she had two smaller boxes. One held mementos from her life, such as a picture of her as a teenager with a boy around the same age, smiling at one another. (Emma never wanted to talk about him.) The other had a tiny lock on it and Mary Margaret didn’t question it at first. Emma seemed to only carry cash so maybe it was where she kept her money.

Then on the day she washed her sheets, she decided to throw Emma’s in. She wasn’t always on top of laundry and Mary Margaret figured it’d be easy to throw them in. When she stripped Emma’s bed, however, a purple pacifier came flying out of the sheets. Mary Margaret tipped her head as she slowly picked it up.

“What are you doing up here?”

Emma’s sudden voice made her jump. “Oh, Emma. You nearly gave me a heart attack. I was just going to wash your sheets for you.” She turned to face her. “What’s this?”

Her roommate nearly pounced on her to snatch it away. “Oh I uh, this is Alexandra’s.”

“Alexandra’s?”

“Yeah, I was babysitting and we fell asleep in my bed, must have gotten tangled up in the sheets.”

Mary Margaret hadn’t recalled Emma ever babysitting Alexandra, but she shrugged it off and tried to remind herself that she didn’t know every detail of her life.

“Well, I’m going to run this down to the laundry room. Got anything else you want me to throw in?”

“Nah, I’m good. Better get this back to Ashley.”

“Of course.”

Mary Margaret was halfway down the stairs when she realized she forgot the pillow cases. When she got back up, she paused as she saw Emma putting the pacifier into the lock box and using the key to shut it. Turning straight back around, Mary Margaret headed downstairs, more curious than ever.

Mary Margaret with the idea of whether or not to invade her roommate’s privacy for a few days. She thought of Emma’s relationship with Graham before he died. They hadn’t dated, but maybe they had hooked up a few times. Was it possible that she was now carrying his baby? It had been a few months though, surely she’d be showing.

Eventually, she tried to let it go. It wasn’t any of her business and as much as she loved Emma, it wasn’t fair to go through her things. She tried to focus on her relationship with David, but after he gave her the wrong card on Valentine’s Day, she was starting to realize that maybe he was never going to feel the same way about her.

Walking into the loft after ending things-again-all Mary Margaret wanted to do was collapse in bed and sleep for the next 10 years. She heard some noises from upstairs, though, and went up there. She found Emma curled up on her bed wearing her trademark flannel night shirt and…sucking on the pacifier.

Mary Margaret moved closer and saw the box besides Emma. Inside was a baby rattle, a teddy bear and a baby bottle. She turned to Emma, who’s eyes were wide as she clutched her baby blanket to her chest and looked up at Mary Margaret in shock.

“You need someone to take care of you,” Mary Margaret whispered, tears still in her eyes after her horrible night. “And I need someone to take care of.”

Emma removed her pacifier. “Mary Margaret…”

“You had a tough life, didn’t you?” It was odd how natural it felt for her to start rubbing Emma’s stomach. “Foster care, no parents. You need to feel little sometimes, because that’s what it’s like to feel safe.”

“If you’re going to mock me…”

Mary Margaret put a finger over her lips. “I’m not mocking you.” She pushed Emma’s hair behind her ears. “You need a mommy. Do you want me to be your mommy?”

There was a silence and Emma tried to look away, but Mary Margaret gently redirected her chin.

“I’ll be your mommy.”

“You will?” Emma sounded so young, innocent.

“Yes, sweetheart. Any time you need to be little, you can be little.”

“Mary Margaret?”

“Yes?”

“Can I call you Mommy?”

“Yes, baby girl, you can.”

Mary Margaret took the pacifier from beneath her finger tips and placed the nipple back into Emma’s mouth. She laid beside her on the bed and cuddled her close. Emma curled up into a ball, shutting her eyes. Mary Margaret pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting out a tiny sigh.

Neither of them had to be alone anymore.


End file.
